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Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Vasishteswarawamy Temple at Thittai is an ancient temple near
Thanjavur. This is one of the Nava Graha ( Nine Planets) Temples. The
presiding deity is a Swayambu Lingam and gets his name because he was
worshipped here by Saint Vashishtar.The Goddess is Ulaganayaki or
Sugantha Kundalambal.

A unique feature of this temple is a drop of water falls on the Lingam
(Main Diety) exactly every twenty four minutes from the
roof of the Vimanam(tower above the sanctum). Two stones “Suryagaanthakkal”(sun stone) and
“Chandragaanthakkal” ( moon stone) are placed at strategic points above
the Vimana. These 2 stones absorb moisture from the atmosphere, convert
into one water
droplet, performing a natural Abhishegam to the diety, every 24
minutes. Another special here is that the “Guru Bhagavan” has a separate sanctum
inside this temple itself.

I am going to be away for a fortnight on a tour of the State of Gujarat (Western India) and hence will not be posting/commenting until my return. Bye for now.

The Chettiar who contributed financially to the construction of this temple

The Chettiars wife

The four holy saints who have visited this temple between 7th-9th centuries and sung hymns in praise of the Lord

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

During our recent visit to Kumbakonam in Tamilnadu (South India) we bought a "Kal Chetty" or stone vessel from the local bazaar. Stone vessels were used extensively in South India for cooking till about 50 years ago but have now almost disappeared from the modern kitchens.Kal Chetty's have their own distinct advantages - cooking in them results in better heat retention as well adds to the flavor of the food item being prepared.
This is what we cooked in the Kal Chetty today :) It was indeed delicious & "chatpata" !

Vetta Kuzhambu - A South Indian spicy curry made from tamarind juice, sun dried Turkey berries (chundakkai) & other home made spices

Monday, February 10, 2014

Tanjore painting or Thanjavur Oviyam is a major form of classical South Indian painting from the town of Thanjavur in Tamilnadu. The art form dates back to about 1600 AD, a period when the Nayaks of Thanjavur encouraged art—chiefly, classical dance and music—as well as literature, both in Telugu
and Tamil. Tanjore paintings are known for their surface richness,
vivid colors, compact composition and especially the glittering gold
foils used to give the paintings their rich look . Essentially serving
as devotional icons, the subjects of most paintings are Hindu
gods, goddesses, and saints. Episodes from Hindu tradition are drawn
upon as elaborations of the main figure or figures placed in the central
section of the picture. Tanjore paintings are panel paintings done on solid wood planks, and hence referred to as palagai padam (palagai = "wooden plank"; padam
= "picture") in local language. In modern times, these paintings have
become souvenirs of festive occasions in South India, pieces to decorate
walls, and collectors' items for art lovers.

Arumugham - the artisan who produces these amazing Tanjore paintings at his small workshop

Thursday, February 6, 2014

This is a continuation of my earlier post : Thanjavur Palace Art Gallery
Here I am posting photographs of some of the brilliant dancing Nataraja bronzes on display here. Each of these Natarajas is distinct with its own unique features.(Other bronzes will follow in the next post).
Nata-raja means King of Dancers.It is a depiction of the Lord Siva as the cosmic dancer who performs his divine dance to destroy a weary universe and make preparations for the Lord Brahma to start the process of new creation. If you need more information on Nataraja please see this website: Nataraja - Wikipedia

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

The Art Gallery houses an impressive collection of bronze
and stone statues mostly around 9th-12th century AD.The pictures posted here are of the entrance foyer and buildings only. Bronzes statues will be shown in the next post.The Thanjavur Maratha Palace was the official residence of the Bhosle family who ruled over the Thanjavur region from 1674 to 1855. It was originally constructed by the rulers of Thanjavur Nayak Kingdom and after their fall, it served as the official residence of the Thanjavur Marathas. When most of the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom was annexed by the British
Empire in 1799, the Thanjavur Marathas continued to hold sway over the
palace and the surrounding fort. Serfoji II (September 24, 1777 – March 7, 1832) was the last ruler of the Marathas of Thanjavur to exercise absolute sovereignty over his dominions.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

The Saraswathi Mahal library started as a Royal Library for the
private pleasure of the Nayak Kings of Thanjavur who ruled 1535 - 1675
AD. The Maratha rulers who captured Thanjavur in 1675 patronised local
culture and
further developed the Royal Palace Library until 1855. Most notable
among the Maratha Kings was Serfoji II
(1798–1832), who was an eminent scholar in many branches of learning
and the arts. In his early age Serfoji studied under the influence of
the German Reverent Schwartz, and learned many languages including
English,
French, Italian and Latin. He enthusiastically took special interest in
the enrichment of the Library, employing many Pandits to collect, buy
and copy a vast number of works from all renowned
Centres of Sanskrit learning.The Collection:The bulk of the manuscripts are in Sanskrit.Other than this there
are manuscripts in Tamil, Marathi, Telugu,Urdu and Persian covering
subjects like literature, music,medicine.The manuscripts are mostly on
paper but a few were written in on palm-leaf. The library also
holds medical records of Ayurveda scholars, including patient case
studies and interviews in the manuscripts classified under the
Dhanvantari section.
These records also furnish information on the political, cultural and social
administration of the Maratha kings of Thanjavur.

Entry into the Library - Entrance is free but no cameras allowed inside